Increased glyphosate concentrations in urine of MEPs

A significant concentration of glyphosate, the main ingredient of the weed-killer Roundup made by Monsanto, was detected in the urine of nearly fifty MEPs. They were tested through an initiative of the Greens during the Parliament’s plenary sitting in April.

The tests, carried out by BioCheck Laboratory Services in Leipzig, indicate that glyphosate was detected in the urine of the entire group of participants, and indeed “within increased proportions.” So indicates the MEP Marc Tarabella (of the Socialists and Democrats) in a communiqué.

The average rate of glyphosate measured in the urine of MEPs was found to be 1.7 micrograms/litre, or seventeen times the permitted norm for residues of this substance for European drinking water (this being 0.1 micrograms/litre).

“The results of this milestone research should force the public and manufacturers alike to acknowledge that the omnipresence of a potentially carcinogenic and suspect substance, such as glyphosate, constitutes a phenomenal problem,” considers Mr Tarabella.

According to a German study carried out in 2015, based this time upon 2,000 samples coming from a wide panel of citizens, 99.6% of individuals sampled had traces of glyphosate within their bodies. The concentrations detected within urine were five to forty-two times greater than the maximum value for such residues found in drinking water in Europe.

Several national governments, including Belgium, are currently backing the European Commission’s position. It wishes for a renewed authorisation for the use of glyphosate. However, others such as Italy, France, Sweden and the Netherlands have firmly rejected this.